Ghibli Themes

I love the visual vocabulary of the Studio Ghibli movies, and never get tired of discovering the ways that Miyazaki works his favorite messages into different storylines. Here is a list of recurring themes in Miyazaki movies:

• scary old women who turn into mentors or a discovery of old age as a resource (Spirited Away, Howl, Totoro, Ponyo, Castle in the Sky, Kiki)

• children engaging in profound relationships (Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, Ponyo)

     

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• human degradation of a personified environment (Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, Nausicaa, Ponyo, and to a lesser extent Totoro)

• long hair as a symbol of care and burden/ short hair as a symbol of carefree childhood and confidence (Totoro, Howl, Castle in the Sky, Mononoke, Ponyo)
• bespectacled old men with mustaches who control technology (Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky)

I'm sure there are others, and examples of these that I've missed. Can you fill out the list?